Hello there!

As this is my first post on this forum I would first like to salute this community and as a former lurker I promise that I will do my best to at least try to post comments just as useful as those I've read.

Now to my little nagging problem. I work for a customer selling a packaging solution (pizza packs). Only recently he has decided to go for an online presence and the website is being built as we speak.

The problem is that he can't decide to what marketing strategy he should stick. Initially the purpose of the website was to attract direct leads by providing free quotes. Now he changed his mind and wants to also offer a free report, thus attracting indirect leads.

What is the best way to make the two strategies coexist? My first thought was to make the freebie visible only on after the possibility of a direct lead vanished (exit pop up), but I am sure that there must be a better way.

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Best regards, George

Can you expand a little on the industry...perhaps link to a competitor?

Thank you for your interest.

Essentially this is a business-to-business offer, but with a twist as most of the clients are not actually as sophisticated as you might expect (they are mostly owners of newly opened pizzerias)

Basically I can't give you a link to the competition, because... there isn't any. The sales copy is targeted to an emerging market (Romania) and this offer is unique as it presents technologies and marketing methods in premiere (for this particular market).

The main sales pitch is the fact that the clients can increase the rate of repeat business and thus see an increase of around 33% in their total sales (this is a real figure) while maintaining costs at roughly the same level (if not lower them).

There is also the cultural issue. Clients here don't react too well to sales letters as it is a format alien to them, so I had to disguise the format into a more conventional one.

As for the overall marketing strategy, the website itself is not the center, but of marginal importance, attracting traffic from the offline world (every pizza package made by the company has a short promotional text sending the readers to the website).

If you need further details, I'll be happy to provide them.

Best regards, George

Hi George,

Sorry it took so long to get back.

I'm still a little confused by what exactly he sells. But I don't see where the problem is...from your description. Giving the free report will generate leads...this is usually how it's done. In a squeeze page.

They go to the landing page, and are offered the free report in exchange for their email address.

Once you send them the report, or a cut down version, you offer even more info in exchange for their name and address.

To answer your question directly, it's pizza boxes of some unusual shape complete with a very impressive design and quality printing. It's what you might call a disruptive innovation offer.

The problem with the landing page is the simple fact that the client wants to shoot two birds with one shot. Basically he wants more than an e-mail address from the prospects, he wants to find out their phone number and how many pizza sales they make on a monthly basis in order to have his sales department contact the prospects with a quote. This is the real goal.

A squeeze page is not an option. The visitors will come after reading a printed material and from a cultural standpoint it would be a disaster as there would be a backlash.

Right now the approach I'm using is a bonus angle. "Let us give you a free quote and because we care about your business you will also get a free marketing report", anyway something along these lines. However I feel that this is terribly ineffective, since it dilutes the attention span towards another offer and also because I'm not sure it is such a great bonus to begin with. How do 15 pages compare with an offer that promises a 33% increase in sales?

I'm basically looking for an alternative angle on how to introduce this report in a more effective fashion.

Best regards, George

I still think that this needs to be taken in steps. If the 15 page report is REALLY that good, then you're building a relationship. And throughout the development of that relationship, is when you obtain all the other information you want. You're friend will have to accept the fact that people normally don't just volunteer stuff like that. You have to start with a cold lead, and then add heat.

So you start with the printed ad. They go to the webpage to get the 15 pages. At the end of which (and perhaps throughout) you offer an amazing study on how to make those 15 pages work better--how to put the information you just gave them to use.

By then, you should at least be able to get their name and email.

In the report you give them, you unveil the BIG CHEESE...a sure way to increase sales by 33%. If the information you gave them before was worth a durn, then they should be willing to turn over all the info you want from them.

You might want to make the final offer a DM piece...so they feel better about putting in their address and stuff.

Thank you Eric!

You've been very helpful and if possible, I'd give you karma points twice. I think I finally know how to deal with this and the conversation with you has made this possible.

Warm regards,

George